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Wordswarms From Years PastAdjacent Wordsshrimp butterShrimp catcher shrimp cocktail Shrimp net shrimp Newburg shrimp sauce shrimp-fish shrimper shrimpfish shrimplike shrimpy Shrine Shriner Shrines, Silver shrink back shrink from shrink-wrap shrink-wrapped shrink-wrapped software shrinkable Shrinkage Shrinker Shrinking Shrinking head shrinking violet Shrinkingly shrinkwrap Full-text Search for "Shrink" 1647 |
Shrink definitions
Webster's 1828 DictionarySHRINK, v.i. pret. and pp. shrunk. the old pret. shrank and pp. shrunken are nearly obsolete. WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)n Merriam Webster's
Oxford Reference Dictionaryv. & n. --v. (past shrank; past part. shrunk or (esp. as adj.) shrunken) 1 tr. & intr. make or become smaller; contract, esp. by the action of moisture, heat, or cold. 2 intr. (usu. foll. by from) a retire; recoil; flinch; cower (shrank from her touch). b be averse from doing (shrinks from meeting them). 3 (as shrunken adj.) (esp. of a face, person, etc.) having grown smaller esp. because of age, illness, etc. --n. 1 the act or an instance of shrinking; shrinkage. 2 sl. a psychiatrist (from 'head-shrinker'). Phrases and idioms: shrinking violet an exaggeratedly shy person. shrink into oneself become withdrawn. shrink on slip (a metal tyre etc.) on while expanded with heat and allow to tighten. shrink-resistant (of textiles etc.) resistant to shrinkage when wet etc. shrink-wrap (-wrapped, -wrapping) enclose (an article) in (esp. transparent) film that shrinks tightly on to it. Derivatives: shrinkable adj. shrinker n. shrinkingly adv. shrink-proof adj. Etymology: OE scrincan: cf. skrynka to wrinkle Webster's 1913 DictionaryShrink Shrink, v. i. [imp. Shrankor Shrunkp. p. Shrunk or Shrunken, but the latter is now seldom used except as a participial adjective; p. pr. & vb. n. Shrinking.] [OE. shrinken, schrinken, AS. scrincan; akin to OD. schrincken, and probably to Sw. skrynka a wrinkle, skrynkla to wrinkle, to rumple, and E. shrimp, n. & v., scrimp. CF. Shrimp.] 1. To wrinkle, bend, or curl; to shrivel; hence, to contract into a less extent or compass; to gather together; to become compacted. And on a broken reed he still did stay His feeble steps, which shrunk when hard thereon he lay. --Spenser. I have not found that water, by mixture of ashes, will shrink or draw into less room. --Bacon. Against this fire do I shrink up. --Shak. And shrink like parchment in consuming fire. --Dryden. All the boards did shrink. --Coleridge. 2. To withdraw or retire, as from danger; to decline action from fear; to recoil, as in fear, horror, or distress. What happier natures shrink at with affright, The hard inhabitant contends is right. --Pope. They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task. --Jowett (Thucyd.) 3. To express fear, horror, or pain by contracting the body, or part of it; to shudder; to quake. [R.] --Shak. Webster's 1913 DictionaryShrink Shrink, n. The act shrinking; shrinkage; contraction; also, recoil; withdrawal. Yet almost wish, with sudden shrink, That I had less to praise. --Leigh Hunt. Webster's 1913 DictionaryShrink Shrink, v. t. 1. To cause to contract or shrink; as, to shrink finnel by imersing it in boiling water. 2. To draw back; to withdraw. [Obs.] The Libyc Hammon shrinks his horn. --Milton. To shrink on (Mach.), to fix (one piece or part) firmly around (another) by natural contraction in cooling, as a tire on a wheel, or a hoop upon a cannon, which is made slightly smaller than the part it is to fit, and expanded by heat till it can be slipped into place. Collin's Cobuild Dictionary(shrinks, shrinking, shrank, shrunk) 1. If cloth or clothing shrinks, it becomes smaller in size, usually as a result of being washed. All my jumpers have shrunk. VERB: V 2. If something shrinks or something else shrinks it, it becomes smaller. The vast forests of West Africa have shrunk... Hungary may have to lower its hopes of shrinking its state sector. ? grow VERB: V, V n 3. If you shrink away from someone or something, you move away from them because you are frightened, shocked, or disgusted by them. One child shrinks away from me when I try to talk to him... VERB: V prep/adv 4. If you do not shrink from a task or duty, you do it even though it is unpleasant or dangerous. We must not shrink from the legitimate use of force if we are to remain credible... VERB: usu with neg, V from n 5. A shrink is a psychiatrist. (INFORMAL) I've seen a shrink already. N-COUNT 6. no shrinking violet: see violet Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms
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